Bishop Robert C. Morlino encouraged everyone to appreciate the “beauty” of the priesthood as he prepared to ordain Deacons Vincent Bryan Brewer, Garrett Buchanan Kau, and Stephen Christopher Petrica to the priesthood for the Diocese of Madison on May 24 at St. Maria Goretti Church.
Tag: Morlino
Finding beauty in the priesthood
Dear Friends,
“The love of Christ compels us (2 Cor 5:14),” says the second letter to the Corinthians. That love, which is made manifest to us in the person of Christ, is the most beautiful thing that there could ever be. It is beautiful because God is love. He is love and He is beauty itself.
Decree transferring St. Pius X Parish to the Jefferson Vicariate Forane
Protocol #: 021-2013 […]
Scott Jablonski ordained to the diaconate
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| A packed St. Joseph Church in Baraboo witnessed Scott Jablonski ordained to the diaconate on Sunday, April 14. To view more photos from the diaconate, visit St. Joseph Parish, Baraboo Facebook page here. (Contributed photo/Bryan Thompson) |
BARABOO — Scott Jablonski was ordained to the transitional diaconate by Bishop Robert C. Morlino during the 10:30 a.m. Mass at St. Joseph Church in Baraboo on Sunday, April 14. He is expected to be ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Madison next year.
‘Witness’ to the faith
In his homily at the Mass, Bishop Morlino spoke about the “beauty” of the Office of Deacon, and how a deacon is called to “testify” and proclaim the Gospel at the liturgy and in their daily life.
“Our new Deacon Scott is a very great witness — he loves to testify, and he’s one of the most pleasant testifiers I’ve ever met,” said Bishop Morlino. “The Lord has given him such marvelous gifts, that he’s now put at the Lord’s disposal.”
You can read more on the bishop’s message in his column here.
Journey to ordination
Deacon Jablonski, originally from Appleton, returned to Catholicism after years searching for answers and learning about different religions. He received first Communion as a youth, but says his family members did not practice the faith. He was recently interviewed by EWTN for The Journey Home series telling the story of his personal journey getting to know Christ more fully.
Focusing on death, life, and mercy
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| This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop. |
“Death and life have contended in that combat stupendous: The Prince of Life, who died, reigns immortal.”
“Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining. Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning!”
(Easter Sequence – Roman Missal, 1964 translation).
I choose those two lines to focus upon in this Easter Season, because they are exactly reflective of the themes that our Holy Father, Pope Francis struck during many of the early days of Easter. He has asked the question and raised the issue from Scripture, “why do you seek the living among the dead (Lk 24:5)?”
“Death and life have contended,” and life won out, so, the Holy Father asks, echoing the message of the angel, “why do you seek the living among the dead?”
A second point that the Holy Father has focused upon is reassuring us, once again, that no one with a good and open heart is outside the bounds of the mercy of Jesus Christ, won by His death on the Cross, and confirmed by His Resurrection.
And so, we’ve got two words, or groups of words: “death and life,” and “mercy,” on which we should meditate in this Easter season.
Where is mercy in the world?
“Why do you seek the living among the dead?” Christ died that there might be mercy. Let’s calmly look at our world today, and let’s look around for mercy.
Bishop Morlino comments on Pope Francis
MADISON — Less than an hour after Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was announced as the new pope, taking the name Francis, Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison addressed reporters on the selection.
Bishop Morlino recalled being familiar with Cardinal Bergoglio from eight years ago, when Pope Benedict XVI was elected pope. Bergoglio was reportedly in heavy consideration to replace Pope John Paul II. Bishop Morlino said the new pope can be a leader who could “raise the Church out of mediocrity” around like world like he did in his native Argentina.
Bishop’s statement on Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation
As news reports have indicated, Pope Benedict XVI has announced that he will resign at the end of February. Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison, has offered the following statement in regards to this development:
With the rest of you, I woke this morning to learn of the shocking, but not altogether surprising, news that our beloved Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, is resigning his service as the successor of St. Peter, Bishop of Rome. His announcement brings me sadness personally, as he is a hero to me and a great shepherd for the Church. I first met the Holy Father as Cardinal Ratzinger in 1983.
What happened in Connecticut
Dear Friends,
It seems like forever ago that I saw the movie, The Exorcist (and it was forever ago in the sense that it was in the ’70’s) but there was one scene and one line that stuck with me. It was not any of the overblown portrayals of the Devil’s presence, though they did go overboard in that movie in certain instances, and attributed to the Devil certain things that the Devil could not do, just to make it more sensational.
Diocese comments on misleading Wisconsin State Journal article
“Morlino Cracks Down on Two Nuns” is a misleading headline to an article appearing in the Wisconsin State Journal newspaper of Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. The headline provocatively attempts to sensationalize the ordinary operations of the Catholic Church. The real issue is about the permissibility of members of Wisdom’s Well to speak at parishes, not about religious sisters. Contrary to the impression of the article’s headline, the prohibited group at this specific time is Wisdom’s Well, which includes not only religious sisters, but also others, and the “group” not being corrected at this time is religious sisters in general in the Diocese of Madison, including the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa. The Diocese of Madison is aware of and grateful for the charitable work of many religious sisters over the years.
The article also fails to address sufficiently the risk that materials and methods of the members of Wisdom’s Well may appear to promote opinions that are contrary to the Church faith. The Diocese of Madison pursued this matter with utmost confidentiality to protect the reputations of all parties. The specific limitation of this issue to members of Wisdom’s Well and the confidential documents sent to the priests were also communicated personally, confidentially, and directly by me to the Prioress of the Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation at the time of the confidential communication to the priests in the Diocese of Madison.
Bless our Priests Collection
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Dear Friends in Christ,
The Year of Faith, begun in October, offers each of us a challenge to rediscover our faith and share it with others. It offers us a unique opportunity to reflect on the gift of faith we have been given and grow in that faith.
In reflecting on those who have influenced our lives in faith, most of us have our parents, grandparents, other family members, and great friends to thank. We certainly have great catechists and Catholic school teachers to thank, as well. Those of us of a certain age owe a great debt to the religious sisters who taught in our schools. But every single one of us has a number of priests to thank for the faith we have been given by God.